Question

1. What do you perceive to be the biggest sustainability challenges for humans in the coming decades?

Answer 1

PLASTICS

The more we learn about the global plastic pollution problem the more significant it seems.From the science which tells us how much and how far plastic pollution has spread,to the recognition of significant contribution that the plastic production and use contributes to climate change.set against this are the continuing development of responses,from societal and policy approaches to address single use plastics to the development of circular economy solutions and the continuing development of biobased and lower impact alternatives.so plastics will be a major sustainability challenge in the upcoming decade.When looking into solutions ,people either want to go back to the good old days of paper,glass and metal or look forward with alternative materials as though they are miracle cures.Climate change and loss of biodiversity are still the biggest environmental factors to be hitting our planet.When we look at solution to the plastic problem,we have to consider these points too.Thousands of distribution journeys have been cut by moving from glass bottles to PET bottles.The total carbon impact of the reduction of these journeys has been immense.Glass and metal have been injuring our wildlife for centuries.They should not be considered a no-impact solution.As demand for paper grows to replace plastic,more and more indigenous forests are being replaced with single crop forests.Many people want to move back to metal but do not considered the environment impact,which includes the destruction of many habitats for minerals such as bauxite.As we go into a new generation of life,look at the way we live,and move forward with technological advances,we need to consider the items we are applauding for the environment credentials are needed.We must not create new demons.Plastics have been used for the last 50 years.Now it need to step back and conduct adequate research for the future of design and packaging.Platsic is a problem,but at times ,it is a solution.We should reject it if possible,then reduce it or replace it with truly sustainable and ethically sourced materials that will have little to no impact on our climate ,habitats and lives.